Michigan congressmen pooling money for possible Senate run

Quarterly campaign finance reports show two of the potential candidates to replace U.S. Sen. Carl Levin out in front when it comes to raising money.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Howell Republican, leads the pack. His quarterly finance statement filed with the Federal Elections Commission shows $1.4 million in cash on hand.

That’s nearly twice as much as the $813,385 that U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, a Bloomfield Township Republican, has on hand.

Both men are weighing a run for U.S. Senate in 2014 since Levin decided not to seek a seventh six-year term.

Peters declined comment on a possible run for the Senate through a statement issued from his office.

“I’m grateful for the support from Michiganders who want good jobs and a strong future for our families,” said the statement from Peters, whose quarterly report listed $76,716 in contributions from individuals and $294,200 in contributions from political action committees.

Rogers listed $40,734 from individual donors for the quarter and $123,766 from political action committees, and another $1,398 in other receipts for a total of $165,898 for the quarter.

Peters represents a new S-shaped 14th Congressional District that starts in Pontiac and ends in Detroit.

Rogers’ 8th Congressional District represents north Oakland County plus Livingston and Genesee counties.

U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, whose 9th Congressional District represents southeast Oakland County and part of Macomb County, showed $155,478 in cash on hand with contributions for the quarter of $115,728.

U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, from Milford, who replaced former Rep. Thaddeus McCotter in the 11th Congressional District and is in his first quarter in Congress, listed cash on hand of $26,706 with quarterly contributions of $30,101 but campaign debt of $203,854.

Bentivolio’s quarterly report led at least one Republican to question whether Bentovolio is strong enough to keep the seat in the 2014 election.

Paul Welday, a former county Republican Party chairman from Farmington Hills, posted on Facebook Tuesday about Bentivolio’s finances.

“Like it or not, a reality and necessity in politics is fundraising,” Welday wrote with a link to Bentoviolio’s quarter campaign finance statement.

“It’s a measure of support and indication of strength,” he said. “By those standards, surprise Congressman Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI/11) is exceptionally weak politically and puts this district in the toss-up category.

“You simply cannot compete in a congressional district with only $30k in the bank and over $200k in debt,” Welday wrote. “This should be a huge “Red Flag” across the 11th District of Michigan and a very real concern for GOP leaders everywhere.”

Though Michigan Republican managed to keep control of the state House, Supreme Court and GOP congressional seats, they’re still stinging over President Barack Obama’s large 54-44 percent victory over Republican Mitt Romney in last November’s election.